Glass House

A worried gnome of Zurich was heard muttering that the Amas Bank in Geneva, renamed the Hinduja Bank in 2009, is where Madhu Koda has stashed his loot. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are hot on the money trail and the Koda corruption whirlpool may net some big fish. The CBI and ED, following directions from the court, have zeroed in on many major political players who haunt Central Hall and AICC. A senior Congress politician from Mumbai, a journalist-turned-politician, an RJD turncoat Bihar politician who has spent more time in police stations than in his constituency, and a famous industrialist-turned-governor are on the list. CBI sources say Koda's arrested consigliere Vinod Sinha, is singing like a canary.

Postscript: The Skoda Power Project at Tenughat is also part of the investigation circuit. Started when Shibu Soren was chief minister, the Rs 1,200-crore venture could embarrass many Jharkhand politicians.

Southern DiscomfortPolitical birthdays are meant to make a power point. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 78th birthday last week went by without balloons, photo-ops, long sycophantic queues, crackers and the mandatory giant cake. President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari sent flowers while the Gandhis, Sushma Swaraj, M. Karunanidhi, Mayawati and Narendra Modi phoned Manmohan. Perhaps there is not much to celebrate for a prime ministership under seige. As Manmohan's image goes south, Chennai has woken up to rumours of a new prime ministerial candidate. Posters were reportedly put up hailing P. Chidambaram as India's next prime minister and his son Karthik as Tamil Nadu's next chief minister. Most state Congressmen say they don't know if the posters had Chidambaram's approval and some even deny the posters existed. Some say these were torn down immediately after being put up. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) is currently afflicted with bipolar disorder; Cambridge-educated Karthik has been running a parallel state Congress-the other M.K. Stalin. The reason, according to TNCC whisperers, is that the powerful home minister needs to establish a home base. Feel at home, minister?

The Edicts of AshokaPawar has prerogatives; Ajit Pawar has referred to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as a selfish Ashoka tree which "grows taller but doesn't give shelter to others. We also have one in Mantralaya but it is of no use". Chavan's intervention in the Chakan International Airport project in Pawar's home district Pune is the reason why Pawar Jr. went ballistic. But Chavan, acting like a perfect political gardener, retorted, saying, "The Ashoka tree is growing taller and greener. And if it is allowed to grow unhindered, it will soon be able to give shelter to others too."

The agenda is to take the Kashmir issue among young Indians and explain why Omar Abdullah is unable to keep the snowy state from melting away from India. Incidentally, Tripathi has been pulling off some radical stuff: she recently travelled to Birbhum district in West Bengal to bring the young Adivasi girl who was stripped naked, the mms of which was forwarded by CPI(M) cadres all over, to Delhi to show the Left as being anti-woman. Brinda Karat notwithstanding.

Don't Shoot the MessengerLooks like we get to keep our BlackBerrys for now, thanks to Rahul Baba and his young acolytes. Gandhi Junior is addicted to his BlackBerry, though I don't know whether, like Madonna, he sleeps with it under his pillow. Quite possible though, because he is in constant teletouch with his BlackBerry Club of Kanishka Singh, Ashok Tanwar, Meenakshi Natarajan, Sachin Rao et al. It is an unsaid order that all communications between this group should be on bbm, Black- Berry's instant messaging service. Rahul obviously doesn't want the IB snooping on his phone.

Safari Doesn't Suit

The Reddy brothers with Yeddyurappa (far right)

'What is mine is mine' has been the Reddy brothers' motto but Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa wants to dig their political graves. Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy's plans for a night safari a la Singapore in the 25,000-acre Bannerghatta National Park has been stymied by Yeddyurappa's new Forest Minister C.H. Vijayashankar. No chance of seeing elephants by spotlight on this Rs 180- crore night safari that Reddy detractors are calling a white elephant.

Postscript: Reddy bete-noir Shobha Karandlaje coming back to mentor Yeddyurappa's cabinet could see the Reddys mining for dirt.

Escape of the ScapegoatI would have never taken Suresh Kalmadi as a man of letters. The President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has written an indignant letter to the Chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) of the Commonwealth Games, asking him to explain why the Games have become messier than an athlete's bed in the Games Village. This would have been perfectly proper if only the chief of the IOA and the Chairman of the OC weren't the same man-Suresh Kalmadi. Obviously, the chosen scapegoat is planning to avoid the butchers once the Games are over. Kalmadi has blamed Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy and gang for the fiasco. Incidentally the only one who has no mud on her hem is Tourism Minister Kumari Selja: she has been busy doing what she does best-shopping for Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi's fine handloom saris.

Postscript: BJP leader Rajnath Singh is offended by the azaans and qawwalis planned at the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG. He wants Vedic chants and instead of a panorama on Eid celebrations, wants the Games to showcase the navratras as it's more contemporary. What next? A Kalmadi Janambhoomi?

Lemon of the WeekThe biggest blah-artist in the Congress, Mani Shankar Aiyar, is now "a non-card holding Marxist", according to red buddy Prakash Karat, the CPI(M) boss. Comrade Aiyar, last heard, was looking for a safe seat to contest from Palestine.

Chat Room

"The Pakistan cricketers show no respect for the game and continually attempt to cheat."DARRELL HAIR, former Australian test umpire after revelations of widespread misconduct by Pakistani cricketers

"The (British) monarchy and its traditions are archaic, stupid, a British oddity, but it's what we do."SALMAN RUSHDIE, Author

"Peace must go beyond action. To educate for peace is to vaccinate against war."LAURA CHINCHILLA MIRANDA, President, Costa Rica

"How can any right thinking person pelt stones at school buses?"P. CHIDAMBARAM Union Home Minister on Kashmir